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2017
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LEXPERT 11
Clark, Heidi Dentons Canada LLP
(416) 863-4626 heidi.clark@dentons.com
Ms. Clark is a partner and department manager in the Toronto office of the
firm's Banking and Finance Group. Her practice includes advising domestic and
foreign financial institutions, institutional investors, corporate and institutional
borrowers and governments on a broad range of complex and structured
financing transactions.
Christian, Jeff Lawson Lundell LLP
(604) 631-9115 jchristian@lawsonlundell.com
Mr. Christian is a litigation partner in the Vancouver office of Lawson Lundell LLP,
with a practice focused on energy and regulated utilities. He represents utilities,
power marketers and consumer groups in proceedings before administrative
tribunals such as the BCUC, the AUC and the NEB. He was named Energy
Regulatory Law Lawyer of the Year in Vancouver for 2013 by Best Lawyers
in Canada.
Chatwin, Keith R. Stikeman Elliott LLP
(403) 266-9088 kchatwin@stikeman.com
Mr. Chatwin is a partner in the Capital Markets and Mergers & Acquisitions
Groups with an emphasis on Energy transactions. His practice involves a broad
array of energy matters, and securities and general corporate transactions,
ranging from public and private debt and equity financing to mergers &
acquisitions, corporate restructuring and recapitalizations and shareholder
activism and defence.
Chamberlain, Adam Gowling WLG
(416) 369-7223 adam.chamberlain@gowlingwlg.com
Mr. Chamberlain is active in the firm's Northern Practice, Indigenous Law and
Environmental Groups. He advises developers, governments and Indigenous
enterprises on energy projects across Canada and in northern remote
communities. Certified as a Specialist in Environmental Law, his practise
is focused on environmental, Indigenous and regulatory requirements for
infrastructure and other projects.
Carson, Lorne W. Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP
(403) 260-7083 lcarson@osler.com
Mr. Carson, also an engineer, focuses on domestic and international project
development and finance in the oil and gas, electrical power and other
infrastructure sectors. His experience embraces multi-party and joint ventures.
Buttigieg, Bryan J. Miller Thomson LLP
(905) 532-6637 bbuttigieg@millerthomson.com
Certified as a Specialist in Environmental Law by The Law Society of Upper
Canada, Mr. Buttigieg has expertise in civil litigation, regulatory defence,
due diligence, compliance, environmental approvals, brownfields development
& contaminated land.
LEXPERT-RANKED LAWYERS
its secured creditors is in conflict with the federal
bankruptcy and insolvency laws and is therefore
inoperative to the extent of the conflict."
e Redwater decision is a continuation of a
series of cases that allocate liability when envi-
ronmental and insolvency law intersect, says Al-
exandria Pike, a Toronto-based environmental
and energy partner with Davies Ward Phillips &
Vineberg LLP. She says this intersection "has been
described by the courts as 'messy' but the decisions
consistently support the paramountcy of Canada's
insolvency laws, regardless of the extent of envi-
ronmental risk."
In Pike's view, although the Redwater deci-
sion may appear as a new issue, it expands on the
principles of the Newfoundland and Labrador
v. AbitibiBowater, 2012 SCC 67 and Nortel Net-
works Corp. (Re), 2013 ONCA 599, "cases that
prevent a regulator from jumping the queue and
demanding [100 cents on the dollar] for environ-
mental issues. While companies must satisfy their
well closure obligations during the course of opera-
tions, the regulator cannot impose such liabilities
on an insolvent company, whether or not there is a
significant environmental impact."
e implications for Alberta's energy industry
are diverse and wide-ranging. In July 2017, the
AER applied to the SCC for leave to appeal. Buck-
ingham says, if leave is not granted, or the appeal
court decision is upheld by the SCC, "the interests
of the lending community to maximize recovery
for secured creditors will have priority over the
regulator's rights to enforce end-of-life obligations
through bankruptcy."
e result of such a finding will mean that the
industry will be responsible to fund a greater share
of such liabilities, says Buckingham. Obligations
associated with the renounced properties will fall
principally to the oil and gas industry through
annual levies collected by the Orphan Well Asso-
ciation (OWA) to conduct reclamation and reme-
diation activities. "While the OWA can assert that
costs of performing such activities are provable
claims in bankruptcy against the debtor," she says,
"the proceeds of sale of the debtor's valuable assets
are oen insufficient to repay both the secured and
all unsecured debts of the debtor."
Cherry-pick Assets
e Alberta Energy Regulator (AER), in Bul-
letin 2016-16, responded to Redwater by requir-
ing a higher liability management rating (LMR).
is rating prevents prospective acquirers that
are deemed financially unstable from obtaining
a transfer of well licences. e regulator also re-
quired that that all applications for licence eligi-
bility be considered and processed as non-routine,
says Christopher Nixon, a partner with Stikeman
Elliott LLP in Calgary. In light of the Redwater
